The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli

Pace-Write It!

20-Minute Classroom Flow\nRead (5 min): Read aloud a short excerpt from The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli that shows movement across landscape and a quieter emotional moment between the two characters. Ask students to listen for where the story speeds up and where it slows down.\nNotice (5 min): Students turn and talk: What made the scene feel fast? What made it feel slow? Chart student observations under these headings: action, description, dialogue, reflection, sentence length, and section/chapter break.\nWrite (7 min): Students write a short journey scene inspired by the book’s themes of friendship and resilience. Writing frame: “By the ___ moon, ___ and ___ had traveled across ___. At first, ___. Then, when ___, everything seemed to slow. ‘___,’ said ___. In that moment, ___ realized ___. But just as they began to ___, ___.” Encourage students to include one fast part, one slow reflective part, and an ending that creates a page-turn question.\nShare (3 min): Invite 2-3 students to read one sentence that speeds up the scene and one sentence that slows it down. Classmates name the craft move they hear.\nExit ticket: Write one sentence answering: How did you control pacing in your scene, and which part was meant to make readers pause?